Camera One
by LeapOFaith4
Summary: RENTfic - it's a songfic. All about Depressed!Mark


[disclaimer] This is my first song-fic ever so don't expect it to be amazing. The song is  
"Camera One" by the Josh Joplin Group - buy their CD, it's amazing. All the characters  
belong the the late Jonathan Larson. I own nothing. Therefore, I am accepting donations  
(preferably in the form of twenty dollar bills). E-mail me about that.  
Mwahahahahahaha...anyway. This isn't too happy of a fic so if you have a problem with it,  
don't whine to me. I warned you. [/disclaimer]  
  
iThe sandy-haired son of Hollywood  
Lost his faith in all that's good/i  
  
"Mark, I can't wait to see your movie!", Maureen squealed, clutching Joanne's arm.  
"You've been working so hard on it - it's gonna be great!" Roger nodded, agreeing. He  
knew how long his friend had been working on this.  
"Maybe we could get this in some kind of independant film festival - they show those on  
television you know. You could get shown around the country!" Collins was also pretty  
excited about this movie. Mark didn't particularly want his movie on the Sundance  
Channel though...that had become a resting place for wannabe filmmakers who wanted to  
sell out. Mark wasn't like that.   
  
The movie started. Mark headed for the door. "Marky-baby, aren't you gonna watch your  
own great movie?" Maureen purred. Mark shook his head. "I...don't like to watch my  
own stuff." Maureen shrugged and sat on Joanne's lap, her hand running through thick  
black hair. As the group focused on the projector screen, Mark took a long look around  
the room. Maureen and Joanne were seated on a worn-out couch, their arms around each  
other. Collins was on the arm of that couch. Mark knew he would move around a lot  
during the movie, because that's what Collins did. He walked around. Roger was sitting  
on the floor at the foot of the couch. There was always a space next to him, it was as if  
people were afraid to sit there. Mimi had been gone for about a year, and still there was a  
space left for her. Mark took one last pointed glance at Maureen before disappearing into  
the bathroom.  
  
iClosed the curtain, unplugged the clock  
Hung his clothes on the shower rod  
But he never got undressed, and he never made a mess./i  
  
He tore off his sweater, shirt, and jeans and draped them over the shower rod. He then  
took the jeans back and grabbed a small pad of paper and a pen out of the pocket.  
Wearing only his boxers, he climbed into the shower and pulled the curtain shut.   
  
iIt's funny how life works out  
The odds of faith in the face of doubt/i  
  
Everyone was laughing. The film's main character, a dorky computer nerd, had just fallen  
down a flight of stairs in front of the girl of his dreams, an actress. Maureen was giggling  
about the extreme stupidity of the guy. What she didn't realize was that Mark had put this  
in his movie to remind her of the time HE had fallen down the front stairs of her apartment  
while trying to impress her. Maureen usually tried to block out all memories of going out  
with Mark. Sure, she loved him...just not like that.  
  
iCamera one closes in  
The soundtrack starts, the scene begins  
They're playing you now  
They're playing you now  
They're playing you now  
Take a bow/i  
  
Mark lay in the bathtub and thought about a lot of things...but mostly Maureen. He knew  
she didn't love him anymore...he knew she had never loved him. He used to think he  
would marry Maureen. Of course now he knew that would never happen...but it was nice  
to think about. She was so beautiful...it killed him inside to think about her with Joanne.  
Even though she didn't know he still loved her, he wished she was his again.   
  
iThe trophy wife of Palisades  
Whose yearbook beauty never fades  
Sits and watches the sea roll in  
And wonders what might have been  
If she ever had the chance, would she do it all again?/i  
  
Maureen wasn't laughing. Everyone else was though...laughing at the loser on the screen  
who got the engagement ring thrown back in his face by his dramatic girlfriend. Maureen  
knew that she had done very much the same thing...true, she was drunk. But she still  
threw the ring back at Mark. She then went on to tell him that the only reason she was  
going out with him was to try to prove to herself that she was straight. She regretted  
doing it, and hoped that Mark didn't remember the ring part. Of course, he did. "I  
wonder," she thought, "If I could start over...would I still do that to Mark? Would I still  
throw the ring at him?"  
  
Mark knew his film was almost over. He heard the raucious laughter coming from the  
room. They were probably laughing at the main character trying to fix something with his  
ex's new boyfriend. He couldn't make it a girlfriend - that would be too obvious. He only  
wanted one person to understand what the film really meant. He wrote part of an unfilmed  
script on the paper...  
iIt's funny how life turns out  
The odds of faith in the face of doubt  
  
Camera one closes in  
The soundtrack starts, the scene begins  
  
They're playing you now  
They're playing you now  
They're playing you now  
Take a bow  
  
  
The sandy-haired son of Hollywood  
Lost his faith in all that's good/i  
  
He finished up his note, wishing well to everyone. He folded it up and lay it in the soap  
tray. He reached over to the ledge and grasped the razor in his hand, its metal shining  
under the bathroom lights.  
  
iClosed the curtain, unplugged the clock  
Hung his clothes on the shower rod  
But he never got undressed and he never seemed depressed/i  
  
The mood in the room was somber. The man in Mark's film had just burst into tears over  
his ex-girlfriend. Maureen felt like her stomach was in her throat - she didn't know how  
deeply she had hurt Mark, or that he still loved her. All of a sudden, she got a sick feeling.  
It was as if she knew what was coming. Sure enough...the character stood almost naked in  
his dirty bathtub. At the top of his lungs, he shouted "I STILL LOVE YOU! I ALWAYS  
WILL!" before slumping down. The next clip was of a razor blade, and then the scene  
faded out. The film was over and the credits started to roll. Before anyone could say a  
word, Maureen ran to the bathroom. "Marky! Mark! Don't..." She opened the door, flung  
back the curtain, and realized she was too late. She burst into tears as the others entered  
the small room behind her.   
  
iIt's funny how life turns out  
The odds of faith in the face of doubt  
Camera one closes in  
The soundtrack starts, the scene begins/i 


End file.
